Rating: 
Summary: An all-time classic
Review: Doorways in the Sand is one of my alltime favorites in the genre. Though Zelazny's overall quality can vary from brilliant to mediocre to damn near incomprehensible (and I've read nearly everything he's written), this book is by far his best effort. Make no mistake, it's not a simple read and is nowhere near as straightforward as the (first) Amber Chronicals; Zelazny makes his readers work for their enjoyment, so he's not an author for the lazy-minded, but at his best he uses every single word to its fullest extent. People who really appreciate the beauty of well-written English (without being word snobs) will love this book! Doorways can be a little bit difficult to track--the action flips back and forth in a bewildering series of flash-backs and -forwards--but unlike many authors who play with sudden changes in perspective, Zelazny carries this off. I find new, clever, sometimes hilariously funny details each time I re-read it, and I've re-read it many, many times. In fact it's a tragedy that this book is out of print because my copy is shortly going to fall to pieces!
Rating: 
Summary: A nice work of science fiction, soon after alien contact
Review: Earth has built its first starships, and encountered alien civilization, which is galaxy-wide. Earth sends off two of its treasures, the Mona Lisa and the Crown Jewels, off on cultural exchange, and receives two alien treasures, the Rhennius Machine and the Starstone, in return. Fred Cassidy, our point of view character, is the beneficiary of his (cryogenicly frozen) uncle's trust fund, which pays him a generous allowance as long as he remains a college student without a degree. He's now been in college thirteen years, when he is suddenly assaulted by his geology professor, who is seeking information on a replica of the Starstone which vanished. But it soon turns out that the professor is not the only one looking--there's the State Department, the U.N., some hoodlums (or doodlehums), and a pair of alien cops dressed as marsupials . . . A fine science fiction mystery. All the clues are there for you to solve it before Fred does, but even if you don't try, it is an extremely engaging read. A few quibbles: This is an earth which has built interstellar spacecraft, so we must be in the 21st century somewhere, but the technology (other than alien, and other than cryogenics) does not seem to have advanced from the mid-70's writing of the book. At least drop in a little technology! .... Still a fine read, which I first enjoyed as a freshman in high school almost a quarter century ago, and I still do.
Rating:
Summary: an enjoyable romp
Review: hilarious in parts and a lot of complex and not-so-complex fun as Fred the eternal student works the college system, the government, and even the bad guys to his own ends. Worth looking for.
Rating:
Summary: I Want To Read It Again!
Review: I think this was the first or second Zelazny novel I ever read. It is one of the ones I have read the most times. I've always enjoyed it. I like how it is written in the sort of pretentious, hip literary style of a professional college student. Fred Cassidy is an extremely well developed character with a definite personality that permeates every word in the book-- which is a first person narrative. There are many great supporting characters, including the larcenous Uncle Albert, the hedonistic Merimee, the insidious guidance counselor Wexroth, an acrophilliac advisor Professor Dobson (who gets the best lines in the book), a dog, a kangaroo, and a sentient recording device. I guessed the plot at the beginning of the story. It seems rather obvious, but no less enjoyable, as the various players realize what is going on. It is a great read from start to finish. A career college student for 13 years with a stipend from a frozen uncle, and a penchant for climbing suddenly becomes involved in intergalactic intrigue. Things get incredibly zany while staying quite serious which is a tough trick to manage. With the help of a mechanized Moebius strip things get even crazier. Zelazny does a great blend of fantasy, science fiction, and philosophy with a "classic mad Irishman" flavor. I just finished it and I want to read it again. I don't know what more I can say about it than that.
Rating:
Summary: Mystical...
Review: Roger Zelazny delivers yet again with this book. A career student who is well liked and very clever, is accused of stealing the star-stone. He is chased by inter stellar alien agents and is never sure who is for real, or who is just a relection from a doorway in the sand...a path that leads to other dimensions. Like many of this mans books, it takes a little while to figure out what is going on, but when you do, you will be glad that you walked through the doorway into his world....
Rating:
Summary: The slings and death-rays of outrageous fortune
Review: Roger Zelazny specializes in devil-may-care, chain-smoking, hard-drinking, appealing young men and his "Doorways in the Sand" features Fred Cassidy, the eternal undergraduate with a very strong case of acrophilia--he loves to climb things. We meet him as he drops into the third-floor office of his latest advisor---through the window of course. Fred has gone through many advisors in his twelve-year stint as an undergraduate--his late uncle's estate will only support him up to the moment when he is awarded a degree--but this particular advisor seems to have a grudge against him. He thinks he has Fred trapped in a schedule that will force him to graduate. Fred manages to escape the dread specter of graduation one more time by signing up for field work in Australia, a literature course on troubadours, and two hours credit for advanced basket weaving. He has other problems, though. There are the strange messages that sometimes appear as sky-writing: "DO YOU SMELL ME DED?" His old roommate gets married, and when Fred attempts to lure a newer, more beautiful model into his apartment, she bolts upon encountering a state of total dishevelment. It's not Fred's fault. Someone has done a thorough job of ransacking his digs. Furthermore, that someone is now waiting for him in his bedroom closet. Where is the starstone, Fred? Many shootings, beatings, narrow escapes, eccentric professors, and aliens-on-a-mission later, we (and Fred) finally discover the missing starstone. Fred's nasty, pipe-smoking advisor finally figures out a way to make him graduate. Then Fred's adventures really begin. "Doorways in the Sand" is vintage Zelazny, which is to say it is like taking a course in philosophy while crawling about between the gargoyles on the cathedral of Life, dodging the slings and death-rays of outrageous villains, some of them bug-eyed monsters. This author makes you smile, engage in a bit of late-night philosophizing over a few cold ones, and root wildly for his cocky-but-likeable heroes.
Rating:
Summary: The slings and death-rays of outrageous fortune
Review: Roger Zelazny specializes in devil-may-care, chain-smoking, hard-drinking, appealing young men and his "Doorways in the Sand" features Fred Cassidy, the eternal undergraduate with a very strong case of acrophilia--he loves to climb things. We meet him as he drops into the third-floor office of his latest advisor---through the window of course. Fred has gone through many advisors in his twelve-year stint as an undergraduate--his late uncle's estate will only support him up to the moment when he is awarded a degree--but this particular advisor seems to have a grudge against him. He thinks he has Fred trapped in a schedule that will force him to graduate. Fred manages to escape the dread specter of graduation one more time by signing up for field work in Australia, a literature course on troubadours, and two hours credit for advanced basket weaving. He has other problems, though. There are the strange messages that sometimes appear as sky-writing: "DO YOU SMELL ME DED?" His old roommate gets married, and when Fred attempts to lure a newer, more beautiful model into his apartment, she bolts upon encountering a state of total dishevelment. It's not Fred's fault. Someone has done a thorough job of ransacking his digs. Furthermore, that someone is now waiting for him in his bedroom closet. Where is the starstone, Fred? Many shootings, beatings, narrow escapes, eccentric professors, and aliens-on-a-mission later, we (and Fred) finally discover the missing starstone. Fred's nasty, pipe-smoking advisor finally figures out a way to make him graduate. Then Fred's adventures really begin. "Doorways in the Sand" is vintage Zelazny, which is to say it is like taking a course in philosophy while crawling about between the gargoyles on the cathedral of Life, dodging the slings and death-rays of outrageous villains, some of them bug-eyed monsters. This author makes you smile, engage in a bit of late-night philosophizing over a few cold ones, and root wildly for his cocky-but-likeable heroes.
Rating:
Summary: A minor work by a major writer
Review: There is so much fun in this novel, it is easy to miss how many good ideas are tossed about like cheap stage props. The main character, an eternal student, is one of the most enjoyable characters I have ever encountered, and almost all other characters hit the mark. Find the book, and tuck it away for a day when you are feeling down. It is one of those overlooked joys.
Rating:
Summary: One of my Favorite Books
Review: This is one of my all-time favorite books. I've read it at least half a dozen times and still love it. Some of the terms I've carried throughout my life, like "doodlehum" and "brace of roods," originate in this book. The only problem I have with it is that it's just not long enough. Zelazny could have easily fleshed this book out to at least twice its size. There's nothing anyone can do about that, but it's still a fun, fast read.
Rating:
Summary: A classic of speculative fiction by a master tale spinner.
Review: Those familiar with Zelazney's other more famous works, such as his Amber Series will be treated well with this book. Fred Cassidy, the book's main character, is the perpetual student, moving around the bureacracy with the ease of an ice skater. An equally crafty advisor graduates him in time to become embroiled with a galactic conpiracy involving The Britsh Crown Jewels and an alien crystal with some very interesting properties. Don't be fooled, this is science fiction. No dragons or unicorns, the bad guys carry guns, and the good guys have peanut butter sandwiches. It's also not a hero story. Fred needs all the help he can get, and suffers a number of reversals along the way. An excellent read, a good laugh, and a very likeable character.
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